Sweet Music
by Danny Phantom SG-1
Summary: A collection of oneshots involving various pairings based on the theme of food. Second chapter: Ryan and Kelsi share a sweet moment involving tea.
1. Ryella: Brownies

**A/N: I meant to post this prior to the release of HSM3, but I got caught up in things, and it wasn't finished yet. A little Ryella missing scene from HSM2 which involves some certain brownies...hopefully, if all works out, I will post several oneshots revolving around the theme of "food" for different pairings. Enjoy this one: Ryella-Browies.**

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Brownies

Gabriella sat in her home, subconsciously fiddling with the numerous plates and utensils she had set out for this occasion. Unfortunately, as she sat looking around her suspiciously empty kitchen, she realized this really wasn't much of an occasion at all. Of course, she hadn't expected EVERYONE to show up to the "after-baseball-game" party, but she had been holding out hope that _someone_ might show…especially a certain someone who hadn't even bothered to show up to the game. But what was the likelihood of Troy remembering the party if he couldn't even manage to show up in support of all of his friends?

At last, a ping of hope shot through her heart when she heard the doorbell ring. She glanced at her mother who was sitting in the living room adjacent to the kitchen, and they exchanged looks of shared optimism that the party might not be a disaster.

Wanting to sprint to the door in relief that someone had shown (perhaps even a special someone?), Gabriella had to contain herself as she walked slowly toward the entrance, trying not to seem too anxious.

She put her hand on the knob and took a second to breathe, bracing herself for the possibility of being confronted by a mere pizza delivery man. At last she opened the door, biting her lip slightly to hide her wishful smile.

Upon seeing him, she beamed genuinely. He wasn't exactly Troy, but she was actually sort of happy in a guilty way that it turned out to be one of her newest best friends.

"Ryan! Hey, come in," she welcomed hospitably, grabbing his coat from him as he stepped inside and took his first look around her home.

"Wow, you have a pretty house," he said dignifiedly. "And I'm so sorry I'm late, but I couldn't really find your house, and it took forever to try to sneak away with the car without Sharpay finding out, and—"

"Hey, Ryan, it's okay!" she laughed. "No one else is even here, anyway, so…I'm glad you even showed up."

She tucked an unruly lock of hair behind her ear and turned away from him. For some reason, her sudden unpopularity was making her feel rather uncomfortable around him.

"Really? Huh…well, I bet all the guys just wanted to go home after such a tiring game. And the girls…well, I don't really know any of them too terribly well, so I really shouldn't be making such judgments," he clarified.

Gabriella nodded curtly, then she realized that she should probably escort Ryan through the rest of her house, since he had only so far become acquainted with her minute foyer.

"Come on; let's go to the kitchen," she said. "The pizza's not here, yet, but my mom made brownies."

"Brownies?" he inquired hungrily as the waltzed into her kitchen. "That sounds so good right now."

She grinned to herself at his remark. Ryan tried so hard to be gentlemanly all the time, but the smidge of irresistible cuteness that emanated from him was unmistakable.

They reached the kitchen, and she saw her mom hovering over the hot plate of brownies she had just prepared, placing a finishing touch of hot fudge on each one.

Mrs. Montez turned around when she heard footsteps, expecting to see the usual Troy walking around with her daughter, so she was taken aback by the sight of this new boy.

"Hello, and who are you?" she asked, unable to hold in her curiosity.

Gabriella was about to scold her mother for sounding so impolite, but Ryan seemed to take no offence.

"Oh, hi, Mrs. Montez. I'm Ryan Evans. It's really nice to meet you," he said, ducking his head in greeting.

"He's a friend, Mom. Sharpay's brother," Gabriella explained so as to set her mother up with the proper information and then have her simply _leave_.

Her mother's eyes narrowed slightly in surprise, "_Sharpay's_ brother?"

Ryan glanced at Gabriella, unsure of what to say. Obviously, there had been some talk in the household about his crabby and controlling twin, but he wasn't certain if the conversations had ever extended so far as to involve him.

Gabriella also hesitated, wanting to both reassure her mother and not insult Ryan at the same time, "Yeah. They're a little bit different from each other, I guess."

"A lot different," Ryan interjected softly, making sure he distanced himself enough from his haughty and arrogant sibling.

Mrs. Montez could tell that she was making her daughter and her guest slightly uneasy, so she knew it was time to just butt out and leave the rest to subtle parental observation.

"Gotcha. Well, I was just finishing the brownies. I guess, with any luck, you two will get the whole plate to yourselves," she winked with a smile.

Ryan and Gabriella both watched as her mother retreated into the living room, and then they took seats across from each other at the neatly-set table.

"I'm sorry about all that," Gabriella began apologizing. "What my mom has heard of Sharpay has all been completely subjective gossip from me when I was angry at her for the whole musical thing last year. It has absolutely nothing to do with you or with any sort of truth whatsoever."

Ryan gave a wry half-smile, "You don't have to apologize to me, Gabriella. I know what my sister's like, and I know she's not the easiest person to get along with," he shrugged. "Like, right now, she doesn't want me to participate in her part of the talent show because she wants Troy to sing with her."

Gabriella gaped at him, "I thought you guys always did the talent show together?"

Ryan shrugged again, obviously not prepared to discuss the situation. "Yeah, well…Sharpay's different from me."

"And…she wants Troy to sing with her?" Gabriella added skeptically.

"Yep," Ryan started. "But I wouldn't worry. With his schedule with those college basketball guys, I don't think he's going to have much time to hang out with her. But if anything starts looking wrong, I'll let you know," he said jokingly.

But Gabriella's mood did not lighten. "Yeah. His new schedule doesn't allow him to hang out with _anyone_ anymore…"

Ryan nodded, understanding. "Was he supposed to be here today?"

"He was supposed to be here _and_ at the game. But, obviously, basketball is more important to him."

"Well, you can't really blame him for chasing his dreams and his future. He's just got a lot on his plate," Ryan deduced. "Speaking of plates, can you pass me a brownie? I want to eat one while they're hot."

This did succeed in lightening Gabriella's mood. He always got so adorable when he talked about food—like a little child. She passed him the plate of brownies and watched as he took three from the plate and placed it back in the middle.

"I haven't eaten anything since lunch today. I spent so long talking to Kelsi about the talent show, and then there was the game, and…well, I just haven't had much time."

Gabriella smiled as she watched him take a huge first bite. "So, are you friends with Kelsi? Or…is there something else there?"

He nearly choked on his brownie, and he had to set it down and chew quickly to keep from coughing. "Um, well…we are friends, I think. At least, by my standards, we are. We're not really…anything more than that, though," he continued, grabbing his morsel back up to take a more thoughtful bite.

Gabriella nodded, unbelieving. "Uh huh. But you don't even _like_ her at all?"

Ryan thought for a moment, chewing slowly. "I've never really thought about it before. I suppose…maybe. A little bit. But don't tell her I'm saying this. I need to think about it first."

She could tell by the way he was blushing, however, that there was something more he was not telling her. "Do you like someone else?"

Again, he had to concentrate on not choking. "Well, I uh…mmm…not too much, no. I don't think."

"Who?" she asked curiously.

Ryan had to inwardly admit that it was a little confusing to have the object of his affections asking him who the object of his affections was. "Don't, okay? Maybe I'll tell you some other time…"

Gabriella pouted, wanting to know what girl Ryan could possibly have his eye on, but Mrs. Montez, who was in the living room "reading a magazine" a.k.a. eavesdropping, caught the hint of irony in Ryan's voice and couldn't help but give a silent sigh of pity for the poor boy.

Gabriella was about to ask him something else as he took the next potentially fatal bite of brownie when the doorbell rang. He silently thanked the heavens that he wouldn't be forced to endure anymore uncomfortable questioning.

"That'll probably be the pizza man…or maybe Troy," she said hopefully, but after she said it, she realized that she was not kind of hoping it _wouldn't _be Troy. The awkwardness of the whole situation might be a little overwhelming. "I'll be back."

Ryan nodded, finally swallowing the last piece of his first brownie. Then, he sighed.

It wasn't his fault he had a small crush on Gabriella. She was the only girl with whom he had ever really associated besides his sister. Sure, he talked to Kelsi, but mostly about compositions and musical pieces. Their relationship was built almost purely on a shared passion for music, not a shared passion for one another. Gabriella was the first girl who had ever tried to _really _befriend him. Most other females were frightened off by his demeaning sister.

So he hoped that whatever powers had blessed him with the ability to finish his brownie would bless him again by letting the doorbell culprit have been a pizza man and not a basketball boyfriend.

He heard footsteps and tentatively turned his head in their direction, anticipating multiple people, but all he saw was poor Gabriella attempting to balance two pizzas and walk at the same time.

"Oh, here, let me help you!" he called after her, slipping clumsily out of his chair to grab the pizzas from her and set them down on the counter.

"Thanks," she acknowledged as he relieved her of her load. "I guess we really won't be needing both of those pizzas, though."

Ryan looked at her sympathetically; she seemed so forlorn at the poor turnout.

"Well, don't worry. I can down both of these pizzas in record time if you want me to," he offered.

She smiled again. Something about Ryan and food was somehow sort of attractive to her…wait. Not attractive. She needed a different adjective for this feeling. Cute? Sweet? No…nothing seemed to befit her feelings better. For some reason, she was finding Ryan more and more attractive.

"That's okay," she said shakily, trying to get rid of the sudden feeling of uncertainty coursing through her. "You should eat your brownies first, since you like them hot."

They both turned away when she said that; she hadn't thought before she spoke, and only now realized that it was especially embarrassing right now with her current emotions.

Ryan nodded, though and they both returned to their seat at the table as he picked up his second brownie.

"You know, Ryan, I don't think I've ever really had a friend as good as you," she mumbled softly, averting her gaze from him as he ate.

His head shot up curiously, "Me? What about Taylor or Troy or…anyone else?"

Gabriella smiled at him. "Taylor is like my sister…but the more time she spends with Chad the less I get to hang out with her. I bet right now, she and Chad are hanging out and doing something instead of coming here to the party. And Troy…well, he and I have never really been 'friends,' I don't think; the only thing we've known is chemistry as a couple. And, based on the fact that he has put random college basketball players before me recently, I'm beginning to wonder if we even _have_ a relationship."

Ryan continued to devour his brownie, but he supplied Gabriella a look of sympathy. "Yeah, everyone else is probably hanging out with their boyfriend or girlfriend. Chad and Taylor, Jason and Kelsi, Zeke's probably trying to ask out my sister, and…well, I don't really know. It just seems to make sense. Maybe everyone wanted to spend tonight with someone special…"

He trailed off, not wanting to make his subtle hint too obvious.

But Gabriella was unaware and huffed, "I know _I _did."

_Ouch_, Ryan thought. _Was that an insult?_

"Not that you're not special or anything, Ryan!" Gabriella recovered, quickly realizing her slip of tongue. "I just meant that I was sort of expecting Troy to show up."

Ryan nodded, sincerely comprehending. "I know."

They sat in tense silence for a few moments as Ryan finished off his second brownie, then he got up and took a seat beside Gabriella at the table as opposed to across from her. He put an arm around her shoulder, and she slumped into him, resting her head on his shoulder as she was lost in thought.

Ryan could feel his heart begin to race, and he hoped Gabriella couldn't feel his pulse and tell he was breathing more quickly as she leaned into him. He occupied himself by gently rubbing her shoulder in a friendly manner to offer comfort.

"He'll get over this phase. It's just a really tense time in everyone's lives right now. We've got the future to worry about, but he'll realize soon enough how awesome you are and what a jerk he's been to leave you alone," Ryan solemnly supplied to her, hoping his words would ease her mind more than they eased his.

She nodded sharply, trying to hold in her tears. It wasn't that Ryan's hushed words of reassurance weren't helpful, it was just that she felt so comfortable around him that she became suddenly emotional about everything.

"It's okay," he whispered gently to her.

She half-sobbed, half-laughed when he said this. How did he know exactly what to say? She felt herself growing closer and closer to him, and it frightened her slightly that she could become so near to another boy so quickly. Ryan just seemed to have a charisma about him that was both gentle and loyal at the same time.

She looked up at him and realized pathetically that her vision was blurry with unshed tears, but his eyes held a firm stance of trust and strength in them that she could not ignore. She knew, somehow, that their friendship was different. For whatever reason, fate had led them together tonight, and his presence had been exactly what she needed to get through.

"Thanks, Ryan," she murmured softly.

"Anytime," he said. "Actually…it's getting kind of late, so, how about anytime before 11 PM?"

Gabriella's head shot up in disbelief. "Is it really that late?"

Ryan grinned broadly. "Yeah. But my parents really won't care if I'm late. You want me to stick around or…what? You tell me."

Gabriella thought it through and cast a glance at her mother, who gave her a look of authority which told her the decision she _had _to make rather than the one she _preferred _to make.

"Nah, it's okay. It is really late. I'm sorry; I didn't realize," she mumbled her consent to the choice she wished she didn't have to select.

Ryan nodded, "No, no, it's fine. We were just having a little moment, there. I think we're good," he attempted to confirm with a smile.

Gabriella nodded toward the plate of brownies and the pizza boxes, "You can have those if you want. We never even got to the pizza," she said, shrugging.

Ryan was pensive for only a moment before saying, "Well, who can pass up such quality brownies? I'll take a couple more, and whatever amount of pizza you want me to take."

Gabriella chuckled as she placed a few brownies into a full box of pepperoni pizza and handed it to Ryan. "We'll split it half-and-half. And don't forget the brownie you never got around to eating."

Ryan shrugged. "You can have that one. You didn't eat any, and chocolate is good for times like this when you're feeling down."

She looked down at the delicious appearance of the culinary dessert and picked it up, smiling at Ryan. She took a tentative bite, then giggled.

"Well, I guess I should walk you out," she said, noticing that Ryan was torn between staying with her and leaving of his own accord.

Ryan grinned from behind the pizza box, and he and Gabriella made their way out of her front door, sauntering sluggishly down the sidewalk to the driveway.

"That went by pretty fast," Gabriella said, a hint of something like remorse in her tone.

"Well, that was probably because I didn't show up until ten o'clock. My bad," he apologized quietly.

He clicked the button on his sister's keys and unlocked her convertible. He had to admit that it was a tad bit embarrassing to be driving around in a pink car with "SE" initialed on the front, but it was the best he could do without a car of his own. His parents had provided the twins with only one car, and, as usual, Sharpay had taken control of that possession and made it _hers._ Also as usual, Ryan had been a doormat and allowed her to do so. And here he was putting a pizza box into "his" pink convertible in front of the girl he had a crush on. Oh, the pain.

He turned around after he finished putting the box in the backseat, and he stared at Gabriella for a moment. Curse the darkness with only the luminescence of streetlights, for it made him weak and shaky to just look at her.

"Well, I guess I'd better be going…" Ryan started, but as he started to get into his car, he felt a hand on his arm, compelling him to stay.

"Wait, Ryan," Gabriella started in a hushed voice. "I…thanks for coming."

He looked into her eyes and saw a desire there which he could not ignore. He leaned in closer, instinctively, and when she made no move to slip away, he continued to close the gap between them. He didn't want to push her—to get so close that she would run away, so he settled with touching her forehead with his own. He was naughtily content with merely this, but then she took initiative. Gabriella placed a chaste kiss to Ryan's lips, and then broke away immediately, backing up in confusion.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I…I don't know where that came from." And it was the truth.

Ryan, still in shock, shook his head slightly. "Ehm…uh, no, no. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…you know. I just…yeah. Um, it's fine."

They stood in stunned silence for awhile, feeling an immense sense of guilt, yet somehow not feeling quite as terrible as they probably should. Then, Gabriella broke the silence.

"How about we just keep this between you and me, okay?" she suggested.

Ryan stared at her for a moment, and he saw the depths of bewilderment in her eyes. He felt a pang of pity for her, and he immediately nodded.

"Yeah. Definitely."

They continued to stand awkwardly for a few more seconds before Gabriella came back up to Ryan and wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug. Ryan smiled as he returned the embrace, relieved that nothing (negative, anyway) had changed between them.

She finally stepped back from him, a surprisingly glassy look in her eyes, and she bid him goodbye for the night. She jogged back up the sidewalk to her house, sparing him one last glance and winning grin before she hustled back inside.

Once she was out of sight, Ryan got behind the wheel of the car and began to back out. The entire drive home, all he could think about was one thing: _She tasted like brownies._

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**Questions? Comments? Concerns? Glaring errors? Disgust? Happiness? Please feel free to let your feelings be known through review. I'll try my best to adhere to your suggestions and/or gratefully reply. Thank you.**


	2. Ryelsi: Tea

**A/N: Well, it's taken awhile to get this to a point where I think it sort of works, but it's here now. The pairing is Ryelsi and the "food" (really drink) item is: tea. Sort of a missing scene for HSM3. Please forgive the lack of plot and onslaught of fluff to ensue. Thank you and enjoy.**

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**Tea**

"Dagnabit," Kelsi muttered under her breath as she attempted to situate her music and tea accessories so that she could access her keys to the school. She'd been coming in especially early this past week just to catch up on her writing for the Senior Year musical.

"Need a hand?" came a voice so unexpected that Kelsi nearly dropped her fine china to the ground as she whirled around to meet his face.

Ryan smiled, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just noticed that you were having a little trouble there…thought I might offer to help."

Kelsi gave a quick glance up and down his figure as if to ascertain that it was truly him speaking to her, then she nodded with a confused half-smile on her face. She held out her music and teapot to him, keeping the keys and cups to herself.

He looked down at the objects she had given him. "Mmm, why do you have a teapot?" he asked curiously.

Kelsi merely shrugged, trying to hide the blush creeping up on her face in embarrassment as she opened the door and ushered Ryan and her belongings inside.

She jaunted quickly down the hallway, and Ryan followed her a little more casually, whistling and strolling, examining the walls as if they would look different when no one else was in the building.

When he finally got to the practice room, he found Kelsi setting her things down and preparing the piano for play. He carefully set down her teapot and music before walking absently around the room and reading all of the miscellaneous wall decorations.

Kelsi stared at him for a moment then opened her mouth to speak for the first time.

But, as usual, he beat her to the punch.

"Why am I here?" he mused without looking toward her. "I knew you came early every day. I've tried calling your house and you're never there, so I figured you must be…well, here."

She nodded needlessly then tilted her head.

"I wanted to talk to you," he continued lightly. "About the musical and…stuff."

Kelsi glanced sideways for a minute, as though expecting someone to pop into the room, but nothing happened.

"You really do write beautiful songs, Kelsi," Ryan went on. "And any girl who can write such beautiful music impresses me."

He finally turned around to look at the silent entity in the room.

"You impress me, Kelsi," he said softly.

Her eyes grew wide with perplexity.

"I know this is a little…weird. But I just feel like we've known each other for so long, Kels. I mean you were the only girl, besides my sister, that I talked to up until last year. We've been friends longer than almost anyone else in this school, haven't we?" he ventured.

"Well, all right. I'll grant that I've been fickle before. I didn't actually become your _friend_, per se, until last year. But we've always talked. We've always hung out and known each other in some distant and mysterious way. Our shared passion for music sort of draws us toward each other," he stated excitedly.

Kelsi's eyes were still wide, but they held less confusion and more anxiousness at this point.

"Kelsi…good grief, think about it! You and I—we've known each other forever! And Troy and Gabriella just met a year ago, and they're dating. Taylor and Chad just began talking to each other last year, and they're dating. Does that make any sense whatsoever?" he chided.

Kelsi began to shake her head slowly.

"And…I mean, wow! Look at where we are now. You and I are—are standing here together, alone in a room, and yet we're—why, we're just talking! Actually, _I'm_ just talking. You haven't even said anything."

He began turning and gesticulating in a wild and rambunctious fashion. "I just don't understand this logic! I don't even think you know what I'm saying—what I'm _trying_ to say. I've just never done this before. I've never _thought_ before, and all of a sudden, you and I, we get paired up for this musical, and instantly—BAM!—I start to think straight. But now that I'm here and just babbling and blurting stuff, I'm beginning to question whether or not I really _am _thinking straight, and I—"

Abruptly, Kelsi was standing right in front of him, looking at him with eyes full of amusement. She put a finger to his lips (he felt a slight tingling pleasure at this) and talked for the first time since they'd encountered this morning.

"Want some tea?" she asked quietly, nodding toward her teapot and the two cups that sat by it.

He sighed heavily, almost disappointed, but smiled and relaxed a little. "Sure."

Kelsi grabbed her teapot and walked over toward the piano, beckoning Ryan to follow her with the cups, and she took a seat on the piano bench, leaving him plenty of room to sit by her.

"Sorry about that," he murmured.

She shrugged nonchalantly, "It's fine. You're just a natural actor. You get a little dramatic and intense sometimes."

_Was that an insult?_ "Yeah…"

He watched in silence as she poured tea into each cup, but the more time passed, the more anxious he felt, and he could no longer take the suspense.

"Well?" he prompted her.

She didn't look up, "Well, what?"

_God, do I have to spell everything out?_ "Well…aren't you going to say anything? I mean, I just spilt my heart out to you! Granted, I rambled just a tad, and I was probably incoherent most of the time, but, I mean, geez, the least you could do is give me an answer."

He was getting passionate again—babbling, demanding, loud. He slammed his shaking and sweaty hands on the piano keys roughly, causing a discordant bang of notes to blast through the room, cutting through the tension swiftly.

To Ryan's astonishment (and mounting respect), Kelsi remained serene. "An answer to what? You never asked me anything."

He thought back quickly, attempting to recall everything he had said in the past few minutes, and found that she was right. He'd never posed any question, yet he was demanding an answer.

"Oh," was all he could manage to say as he ducked his head away from her, certain that his hat would hide his embarrassed and flustered face.

They continued to sit together, though, Ryan awkwardly gazing at Kelsi's music sideways and Kelsi coolly fiddling with her music and teacup as she took a sip.

"Wow," Ryan couldn't help but comment as he read her heartfelt lyrics. "How do you write this stuff? Like, what inspires you?"

Suddenly, Kelsi lost her calm and choked on her gulp of tea.

He whipped his head around to look at her, "What's wrong?"

She spared him a millisecond sideways glance then coughed roughly. "Um, I think I burnt my tongue on my tea," she provided nervously.

He continued to stare at her, his gaze softening from concern to interest. His eyes moved rapidly across her face, playing lengthily on her lips. "Maybe I can help."

Kelsi turned to look at him curiously but found herself mere millimeters from his face. The close proximity caused her heart rate to quicken, and she was too preoccupied with breathing properly to notice Ryan closing the gap between them.

Suddenly, his lips were on hers, but it was over as soon as it began. Ever thoughtful, Ryan hadn't wanted to push Kelsi too far before she was ready—he just had to get his point across.

The both sat in semi-shocked silence for a few moments, then Ryan cleared his throat. "Did that help at all?"

Kelsi's eyes had been glazed over, staring into space, but Ryan's voice brought her back to reality as she shook her head. "What?"

"I said—never mind," Ryan mumbled, so thoroughly embarrassed he felt like he could crawl inside the piano and close the top to escape the situation.

"You," Kelsi whispered finally.

_Is that an accusation of some sort?_ Ryan queried to himself nervously. "Huh?"

She looked up at him. "You asked me what gives me inspiration. The answer is you."

He blinked once. Twice. Three times. _That was unexpected_.

"Really?" he asked, his voice now shaky with excitement.

Kelsi nodded slowly. "I've never been in a relationship, and watching Troy and Gabriella together can only do so much for my inspiration. I have to know what it _feels_ like to be in love, you know?. And…well, I started to think 'what guy do _I _like?' and it turned out that, every time I went to write lyrics for a song, your face would pop into my mind. I didn't know if that meant anything for a long time, but then I started to realize that," she gazed at him genuinely, "I really like you, Ryan. But I've always been too quiet to do or say anything."

He cracked a warm smile. "Hey, it's okay. I'm loud enough for both of us, nowadays."

They shared a succinct laugh, and then he paused. "Wait, so you've liked me since you started writing songs for Troy and Gabriella?"

Kelsi shook her head embarrassedly. "Before that. I wrote 'What I've Been Lookin' For' a long time ago, before Troy and Gabriella got together. It was just when I started writing love songs that I began to think of you."

Ryan gave a low whistle. "That was awhile ago."

"Yeah," she agreed nervously, fiddling with her cup of tea even more.

Ryan looked at her and shook his head in wonder. How had he been so oblivious all these years?

"Well, we can make up for all that lost time," he said to her, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her close.

This time the kiss was more natural, and both were prepared. They eased into it easily, without any hint of awkwardness, until they were just smiling too much to continue. They burst into wonderful, ecstatic laughter until Ryan saw Kelsi's eyes become wide and frightened as she stared at the doorway.

He turned around to see the source of her fear, and his insides twisted.

Ms. Darbus.

They stayed like that for maybe a minute, Ryan and Kelsi apprehensively shifting on the piano bench and Ms. Darbus just staring at the two with a look of some emotion neither of them could rightly place.

"Huh," was all their drama teacher said before leaving and closing the door behind her.

The two occupants of the room eyed each other uneasily, frightened of what potential consequence this might have, but then they heard a most peculiar noise from the hallway.

"Ah, FINALLY!" they heard Ms. Darbus exclaim as she scampered away.

Ryan gave Kelsi a perplexed look, and she just started to giggle hysterically at the absurdity of everything that had happened to her life in the past few minutes. She couldn't help but silently agree with Ms. Darbus.

"I'm starting to think she's been playing matchmaker, having us work together so much," Ryan mused, a half-smile on his face.

Kelsi shrugged. "I guess we have been working together a lot. That's why I always bring two cups with my teapot. In case you ever show up. Or anyone else, I guess…I just figured you might come in early one day to work on your choreography."

Ryan grimaced slightly. "I've been meaning to. Come in early and work with you, I mean. I just hadn't gotten up the nerve to come tell you how I felt, yet."

Kelsi smiled at him. "Well, now you can come in early every day."

Ryan returned the grin. "I think I will. Besides," he said, "it's always better to have two for tea."

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**Yeah, so...not much else to say. Hope you liked it! Reviews are always welcome, whether critical or encouraging. Thanks for reading! **


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